Back to Those Days (2021) – Movie Review [Kino Świat]

Nothing heals wounds like talking. Expose yourself to others and at the same time show them that they are not alone in their suffering, and that there are people like them. Because closing yourself in with your problems inside is how to turn off the light in a burning house and hope the problem melts into the dark, or lock up the addicted person in the house for a week, hoping they will just get rid of it. He. She. Let’s not be afraid to speak up, ask for help, and look for it. Konrad Aksenovich’s new movie left me with such conclusionsWhich in itself is also kind of trying to deal with the trauma of having an alcoholic father and how impossible his childhood was. Beginning of the conversation.

Back to Those Days (2021) – Movie Review [Kino Świat]. Adult children feel sorry

Although the song “Turbo” mentioned in the subtitle tells about the problems and despair of life in the People’s Republic of Poland, and not with alcoholics, it is still. Dealing with a similar phenomenon, adult children – teens who are forced to mature too quickly, and emotionally inappropriately, and who later lag in adulthood, often even for the rest of their lives. It’s so unfair and heartbreaking how these people lose, and how many precious moments are stolen. And while it may seem better today in this respect than it was 30 years ago (although children today are growing up very quickly thanks to the Internet, this is a completely different topic), this phenomenon still exists, and is often hidden. down our area. noses.

The story that Aksinowicz revolves around begins with a beautiful reminiscence of the early ’90s, thus for me especially very nostalgic times. The appearance of apartment complexes, clothes, inside shops and apartments, topics of conversation – all this is taken directly from Conrad’s memories, so it is as close as possible to the truth. I always wonder where Scouts find such places, as if they were frozen in time. Standard simple frame plastic windows today appear only as a fantasy.

It starts out perfectly. Tomek (Theodor Koziar’s appearance), like his friends, lives only with his mother, Helena (Weronika Książkiewicz). The head of the family, Alec (Message Store) went abroad with the money. But he’s not a completely absent father. He sends gifts from all over the great waters, records his son’s cassettes, tells him about living in the United States, and at some point the whole family has to move in, out of their ordinary lives. Not that it was bad. Tomic has close friends, Daniel (Kacper Janusiński) and Ragmund (Marek Marchuka), with whom he spends all days outdoors – often on a racket – he doesn’t go to school so badly, and a new girl has moved into his class. That the young man is interested in how to talk to girls, how to kiss, etc. One might think that the return of his beloved father from across the Atlantic would be cause for joy. But this is the time when the first cracks begin to appear in this perfect picture, and the viewer under the skin feels that something is wrong here as it first appears (unless he has seen the trailer or read this script, then he simply knows it on the face of Certainty figurative feces waiting to hit the fan). We quickly learn that Alec suffers from alcoholism, and that he only needs one strong stimulus to break out. You don’t have to wait long.

Back to Those Days (2021) – Movie Review [Kino Świat]. A little “shining” a little “The Eighth Traveler Nostromo”

During the post-show talk, the director spoke about his inspiration. From the start, the movie was supposed to keep the viewer in suspense, slowly awakening the monster, then pull the viewer out indefinitely, telling them to wait for the monster’s attack. Because, as he says himself, Suspense is definitely more terrifying than horrorFrom moments of direct harm. It’s an unbearable wait if something happens, and if so, when it makes the viewer sympathize with the characters, and somehow feel their fear. The last 30 minutes are all about stress, shame and fear. I understand how important it is to show it all methodically and quickly, but I must admit that at one point I was tired of it. The pace of the narration is perhaps the greatest sin of “going back in those days”. In the last chapter, nothing happens anymore, these are just breakdown scenes. But the finale itself, the last two scenes… They bit me, they spat, and they stomped on me.

Nothing in this movie would have played as powerfully as it eventually would have it not been for the cast. Teodor Koziar looks very natural in front of the camera and for the first time in his life it turns out to be quite solid, even if a little flat sometimes. In general, the entire kids crew was very nice. Weronika Książkiewicz plays Tomek’s addicted mother, so at first, when the situation is still cheerful, she’s just a kind and calm mother, but in the second half of the film, her lack of firmness causes all that gathered sympathy to disappear somewhere, and the viewer begins to despise her. Almost like the executioner himself – just as it should be. But the most amazing is Maciej Stuhr as Alek. The trick is to be on the lookout for the role of a drunk who tries to pretend to be sober but fails. It is even more difficult to construct a character in such a way that the viewer, despite his horrible demeanor, is still able to see some echo of the person who was the hero before he rolls over. That the viewer feels sorry for him does not hate him. This play was a success for Macic.

Back to Those Days will be a very interesting movie for many people, even regardless of its quality. However, you should know that I am rating it without awarding extra points for the topic itself. Even without it, it’s simply a good, powerful, nerve-wracking movie. This is the best for us in recent years.